Fostering Workplace Wellbeing: A Roadmap to Organisational Success

Many of us welcomed 2024 by plotting out our professional aspirations for the next 12 months. We stepped into the new year with a vision of the bigger picture, with a whole year to achieve it all.

Yet, as the weeks unfold, the clean, empty canvas quickly fills up with calendar invites and looming deadlines, and our goals become smaller yet more urgent - what can I finish by 6pm? rather than what will I have achieved by December 31st?

It is common for the day-to-day to start taking precedence over the broader goals we set at the beginning of the year, but the companies and individuals that are the most successful, and build the finest workforce, ensure that wellbeing is a fundamental pillar of their culture, operations, and leadership.

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From nurturing a supportive work environment to embracing servant leadership.

When I was reflecting on this piece, I took a few steps back and thought: why do we really prioritize wellbeing, and why is it part of our priorities and engrained in our value of putting people at the heart of everything we do?

My thoughts were immediately directed towards creating an inclusive and supportive environment that anchors our people-centric values and shapes a culture that is fit for the future.

Wellbeing in its essence is the sum of the parts that make a great employee experience. It is the environment that inspires trusts, listens to its people, and tends to their needs with authentic care and compassion. It is the sense of belonging that is built on a culture of flexibility, understanding, equity, fairness, inclusion, synergy, collaboration, growth, and development.

And at the heart of wellbeing lies the role of leaders. Effective leadership is not about traditional hierarchies. It transcends that to play a pivotal role in shaping a positive workplace culture that supercharges employee engagement and productivity.

Leaders with a serve-first mindset take it upon themselves to lead with empathy, walk the talk, and intentionally role model healthy workplace behaviours with a consistent and firm commitment to supporting the changing needs of talents and helping them balance their personal lives and professional passion.

Then, this analogy brought me to the question of: what if we don’t prioritize wellbeing?

The best way to answer that was to self-reflect. What if we don’t feel heard, seen, supported, encouraged, or empowered? What if we cannot develop our potential? What if we are not supported and enabled to look after our mind and body? What if we don’t find meaning in what we do? What if we don’t feel included, recognized, and valued?

The repercussions are clear and substantial— a lack of emphasis on wellbeing creates a passive culture that is not centered on its people, and an environment that fails to keep its team members engaged and thriving.

At Chalhoub Group , we have been collaboratively engaging with our leaders and team members to revisit work practices and policies that no longer serve our reality and future aspirations, and to make impactful changes that matter to our people.

Recently we enhanced our paternity leave policy, increasing it to 30 calendar days, positioning us in the top 10% of regional organizations for parental leave benefits.? A few years back, we also enhanced our maternity leave and increased it to 90 fully paid days and introduced facilities like designated parking spaces for expectant mothers and nursing rooms across our offices. Our Group also offers flexible working arrangements, comprehensive wellbeing support in five dimensions, a dedicated Wellbeing Academy under Chalhoub University, and Employee Assistance Programs for mental health support in all countries. In recognition of these efforts and many more, we are proud to have been awarded the Parent-friendly Label 2023-2025 by the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority this year.

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Synergy of Luxury: Elevating Product Quality with Team Expertise and Dedication

For me, 'luxury' signifies a dedication to excellence, beginning with the individual. The superior quality and craftsmanship of a luxury product should complement the exceptional expertise, talent, and dedication of the team behind it. Regardless of the sector, wellbeing remains a fundamental catalyst for positive cultures and thriving workplaces, and organizations.

This said, we must acknowledge that this is a journey of a thousand miles, and not a sprint. However, it is reassuring that we are taking several steps in the right direction and together with our people we will continue co-creating a workplace environment that upholds wellbeing, attracts current and future talent, and enables them to achieve their aspirations and goals.